Method and system for network node selection based user equipment agent assisted modification of temporary identity in 3G and 4G networks

ABSTRACT

The embodiments described herein relate generally to a method and system for using mobility management entity (MME) or Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) pooling features depending on whether it is a 3G or 4G network and adding an enhancement in the User Equipment (UE) whereby it uses location information (e.g., broadcast Public Land Mobile Network Identity (PLMN ID), Tracking Area (TA), Cell Identification, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates or the like) to decide from which MME or SGSN it should obtain services.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to general packet radio service(GPRS) networks and its evolution including but not limited to UniversalMobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) and Long Term Evolution (LTE).More particularly, this invention relates to a method and system forusing mobility management entity (MME) or Serving GPRS Support Node(SGSN) (depending on whether the network is 3G or 4G) pooling featuresand adding an enhancement in the User Equipment (UE) whereby it useslocation information (e.g., broadcast Public Land Mobile NetworkIdentity (PLMN ID), Tracking Area (TA), Cell Identification, GlobalPositioning System (GPS) coordinates or the like) to decide from whichMME or SGSN it should obtain services.

BACKGROUND

Mobile broadband data networks are becoming pervasive in modern daylife. Not long ago, there were only a handful of mobile devicemanufacturers and the mobile network was accessible to such mobiledevices for a small set of use cases such as mobile voice or narrowbanddata. Today the broadband mobile network is used by a wide variety ofdevices (e.g., smartphone, tablets, data modem, e-book readers, cars,smart meters, etc.) for general or special purpose communication. Lowcost or free mobile operating systems such as Android®, Firefox® and thelike have made it possible for mobile devices to have broadbandconnectivity. The mobile broadband network includes licensed 3rdGeneration (3G)/4th Generation (4G) networks and hybrid networkscombining Wi-Fi access with 3G/4G networks. In recent times, thepopularity of Android® has added more devices types than ever before tothis crowded environment.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the disclosure herein include a computer implemented methodfor provisioning a UE identification information in a User Equipment(UE) that is connected to a first mobile core network and steeringsignals received from the UE to a second mobile core network, the methodcomprising: updating the UE identification information in a UserIdentification Module in the UE to correspond to the second mobile corenetwork; receiving a signal at a radio access node from the UE includingthe updated UE identification information and forwarding the signal tothe second mobile core network; and performing a procedure at the secondmobile core network to identify and authenticate the UE and assigning anew identification information to the UE.

Other aspects of the disclosure herein include a computer implementedmethod for provisioning a UE identification information in a UserEquipment (UE) that is connected to a first mobile core network andsteering signals received from the UE to a second mobile core network,the method comprising: sending a provisioning signal to the UE from anOver The Air Provisioning (OTAP) server which includes information onlocations of the second mobile core network and instructions on when andhow to rewrite the UE identification information based on the locationof the UE and the second mobile core network; when the location of theUE indicates that a second mobile core network is available in the sameregion, providing an initial Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity(GUTI) indicator to a UE Identification Module in the UE to update aGlobally Unique Mobile Management Entity Identifier (GUMMEI) portion ofa GUTI corresponding to the second mobile core network; receiving asignal at a radio access node from the UE including the updated UEidentification information and forwarding the signal to the secondmobile core network; and performing a procedure at the second mobilecore network to identify and authenticate the UE and assigning a newidentification information to the UE.

Other aspects of the disclosure herein include a system having aplurality of network elements for provisioning a UE identificationinformation in a User Equipment (UE) that is connected to a first mobilecore network and steering signals received from the UE to a secondmobile core network, the system comprising: an application located inthe UE and configured to update the UE identification information in aUser Identification Module in the UE to correspond to the second mobilecore network when the location of the UE is in the same region as thesecond mobile core network; and a radio access node configured toreceive a signal from the UE including the updated UE identificationinformation and forward the signal to the second mobile core network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1A is a schematic illustrating a prior art multi operator corenetwork (MOCN).

FIG. 1B is a schematic illustrating a prior art pooling of a pluralityof Mobility Management Entities (MMEs) in a 4G network.

FIG. 2 shows a structure of a Globally Unique Temporary Identification(GUTI) which may be used by the embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating an implementation of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary core network element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Device characteristics and communication need differ widely amongcommunication devices. The application or business use for many devicescould be different as well, for example, Kindle® or education devices.The traditional mobile network was designed for the human consumermarket. Therefore, it might be desirable to steer certain devices topacket core nodes that have different scaling and virtualizationcapabilities. Machine to machine (M2M) communication over broadbandwireless network follows a fundamentally different cost structure. Thesetype of M2M devices typically have a relationship with the enterprisethat owns them. Most M2M offerings currently in the market treat thecellular network as a transport pipe. While this approach is simple andcan be deployed using the existing cellular infrastructure, it ignoresthe fact that machine type communication (MTC) needs are inherentlydifferent than those for a human subscriber. Machine type communicationfrom smart meters or from telemetered devices is usually in short andinfrequent bursts. Therefore interaction from these devices is moresignaling intensive than data intensive; i.e., the amount of data thatis communicated between the device and the network is often times verysmall and there are many signaling exchanges to establish the datachannel between the device and the network. Furthermore, a number of MTCdevices can be a lot bigger than that of single user subscribers, e.g.,a smart meter deployed in a county could be in the millions. After apower outage, a large number of machines may try to register with thenetwork and thereby overwhelm it. If these MTC devices compete for samenetwork resources as that by human devices, they might cause congestionand affect overall performance of the network. Hence it might bedesirable to steer such devices to network nodes that are designed tocope with characteristics of MTC.

FIG. 1 is a schematic showing a network sharing scenario with a varietyof UEs (e.g., 101, 102, 103) having a User Identification Module (e.g.,a SIM card) 104 able to attach to a prior art Multi-Operator CoreNetwork in which multiple core networks typically belonging to differentoperators (i.e., AT&T, Verizon, etc.) 150, 151 share a common EvolvedUniversal Terrestrial Across Network node B (eNB) 106. Each of theoperators has an MME 111, S/P-GW 114 and HLR/HSS 115 and are connectedto the Internet 120 and/or a private network enterprise 121. FIG. 2 is aschematic rendering of an operator controlled core network 150 having apool of MMEs 111 for load balancing during high use conditions.

3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) describes Network NodeSelection Function (NNSF) in a radio network controller (RNC) or eNB 106(i.e., TS 23.236) that uses encoding of permanent identities such asinternational mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) or temporary identitiessuch as a Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI) andGlobally Unique Temporary UE Identity (GUTI) for proper selection ofnetwork nodes such as SGSN or MME. Such selection is important whenSGSN(s) and MME(s) are pooled together or when a Radio Access Network(RAN) is shared across multiple operators, i.e., a multiple operationcore network (MOCN) as shown in FIG. 2. In general the NNSF logic isproprietary and is limited to load consideration in the pool or PLMNcode in case of RAN sharing and therefore selection of an SGSN or MMEbased on device type or any other granular criteria is not possible.Ericsson U.S. Patent Publication No. 20110230188, filed Jan. 10, 2011,which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety, discloses extendingthe standard mechanism that allows node selection based on bits of IMSIafter the mobile network code (MNC). In 3GPP Release 12, it allows MTCtype indication for network node selection. However introducing suchcapability requires support of MTC identification at UE and RNC/eNodeBand therefore requires a system wide software upgrade which can beexpensive. Often an MOCN is a licensed feature by the eNB/RNC vendorwhich implies additional cost aside from complexity of introducing a newPLMN. The method and system disclosed herein achieves the same goal ofselected device steering (or mapping) but without requiring any upgradeat an eNB/RNC or at a network node such as an SGSN or MME.

An aspect of the preferred embodiment is to use the MME/SGSN poolingfeature (i.e., load sharing between multiple core network nodes) and addan enhancement in the UE whereby it uses location information (e.g.,broadcast Public Land Mobile Network Identity (PLMN ID), Tracking Area(TA), Cell Identification, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinatesor the like) to decide which MME/SGSN it should obtain services.Specifically, this enhancement information can be put in the 3GPPdefined signaling sent from the UE so that network node selectionfunction at an eNB/RNC selects a predetermined address such as avirtualized evolved packet core (VEPC) based on this discriminator.

FIG. 2 describes the UE identification information (e.g., a GUTIstructure) and how the information in the UE identification informationis used in the embodiments disclosed herein. The GUTI has two mainparts—the Globally Unique MME Identifier (GUMMEI) and the MME TemporaryMobile Subscriber Identity (M-TMSI). The GUMMEI uniquely identifies aMME globally. The M-TMSI has significance only within that MME. When MMEpooling is used, the plurality of MMEs belong to a group (identified bya Group ID) and each MME has a unique code within that group (i.e.,identified MME Code). Based on this information an eNB is able to routethe signaling to the MME that has UE context. It is clear that the MMEGroup ID and MME Code together uniquely identify the MME in a given PLMNidentified by Mobile Country Code (MCC)+Mobile Network Code (MNC). TheGUMMEIs of all the MMEs that the eNB is connected to, can be configureddirectly at the eNB or can be resolved with the help of domain namesystem (DNS) lookup.

When the UE starts for the first time, it only has its permanentidentity IMSI and it uses that to register with the network through theattach process. Upon successful completion of that process, the MMEassigns a GUTI as a temporary identity to the UE. After that the UEcontinues to use the GUTI all the time unless the network does notunderstand the GUTI and asks the UE to provide the IMSI. When UE movesfrom one MME to another the new MME requests the context from the oldMME and then assigns a new GUTI to the UE. The MME may assign a new GUTIafter some time has elapsed. On the UE side, the GUTI is stored as astructured file at the User Identification Module (e.g., UniversalIntegrated Circuit Card (UICC) card (e.g., a subscriber identity module(SIM) card)).

As disclosed herein and illustrated by FIG. 3, UEs 101, 102, and 103 areattached to a radio access node (e.g., eNB 106) and a first core network(e.g., core network 150). An enhanced UE shall contain a softwareapplication and/or logic whereby it selects a predefined GUMMEI based onlocation information present in broadcast Public Land Mobile NetworkIdentity (PLMN ID), Tracking Area (TA), Cell Identification, GlobalPositioning System (GPS) coordinates or the like. Further, such apredefined GUMMEI identifies a second core network (e.g., VEPC 160)present in the region. The VEPC 160 may be connected to an M2M Serverand/or a New Services for Validation server. The list of VEPCs specificto location zones can be obtained in at least two ways. In a firstmethod, the list of VEPCs is updated by an over the air provisioningsignal (also know as over the air programming) (OTAP) from an OTAPserver 170. Typically, OTAP is used for variety of administrativeactivities and is considered a secure operation. The provisioning signalmay include information on locations of VEPCs and instructions on whenand how to rewrite the identification information in the UserIdentification Module. The provisioning signal may also include aprecondition for updating the UE identification information whichdepends on the location of the UE. In addition, the provisioning signalmay include a another precondition for updating the UE identificationinformation which is triggered by a UE sending a signal to sign up forservices offered by each of a plurality of mobile core networks. In asecond method, a secure application module which is ideally pre-loadedonto the UE is configured to contact an Internet location to obtain alist of VEPCs. The secure application module may include a serveraddress information for the UE to contact to determine which secondmobile core network to be connected. Contacting the server may betriggered either periodically, by time of a day, or by a change of alocation of the UE. Through any of these methods the enhanced UEreceives the predefined GUMMEI information and instructions to startusing a predetermined VEPC 160.

If the location of the UE indicates to the software application and/orlogic present in the UE that a VEPC (such as reference item 160 in FIG.3) is available in the area, the enhanced UE containing the installedsoftware application encodes and writes an “initial GUTI” indicator withGUMMEI into the User Identification Module and invokes a location update(Routing Area Update (RAU)/Tracking Area Update (TAU)) to initiatesignaling with an eNB 106 and it would then have a GUMMEI (orpredetermined address) corresponding to the VEPC 160 in the UserIdentification Module. After this point all communications from theenhanced UE will be steered toward the VEPC 160. While this disclosureimplements the embodiments of this disclosure with the help of a GUTI,it may also be practiced with other temporary identities as well (e.g.,in a 3G network a P-TMSI would be rewritten into the User IdentificationModule). Since the objective is to route the signaling to a VEPC 160,the M-TMSI does not matter.

The eNB 106 will resolve the GUMMEI with a local table or through a DNS116 to the VEPC 160 and therefore route this and subsequent message fromthis UE to the VEPC. Since the M-TMSI used in the construction of theinitial GUTI was arbitrary, it is not sufficient for the VEPC 160 toidentify the UE. Therefore it will interrogate an IMSI from the UE. TheUE will respond with its IMSI and the VEPC will then allocate a new GUTIto this UE. Since the GUMMEI part remains the same, the subsequentsignaling will keep coming to VEPC 160. Upon successful completion ofthis procedure, the UE will change the indicator that GUTI is no longerthe “initial GUTI”.

If the UE travels beyond the VEPC 160 reachable area, the serving MME inthat region will not understand the GUTI and request for an IMSI andcontinue to work. When the UE returns back to a VEPC reachable area, theenhanced UE will notice that a VEPC is available in the location. Itwill also notice that the current GUTI has a GUMMEI that is differentthan that of this VEPC. In this case it will again follow the steps increation of an initial GUTI and subsequent steps as described above.

Another embodiment disclosed herein is where steering of certain devicesis very useful in the case of the wholesale or mobile virtual networkoperator (MVNO) scenario. In this case all devices belonging to acertain MVNO or bulk customer can be steered to a VEPC that isvirtualized to host many such entities. Once the devices are steered toa VEPC, the new capabilities and superior interaction with an enterprisenetwork can be achieved without creating disturbance or impact on theexiting 3G/4G network.

A network that already has deployed eNBs and MME pools is serving humanusers. Assuming that an operator wants to introduce an M2M service forenterprises where they can connect a variety of machines to theirenterprise network over operator's wireless network. Further assume thatinstead of using a deployed packet core, the operator wants to host suchM2M enterprises on a VEPC. By assigning the VEPC a GUMMEI andconfiguring it in the eNBs or the DNS server, the eNB will be able toselect the VEPC correctly whenever signaling from UE contains a matchingGUMMEI. The deployment of the VEPC and its reachability within a certaingeography is an important consideration. If the VEPC is not reachablefrom the location the UE is in, it will be served by a regular evolvedpacket core (EPC). For example, in the case of a “Connected Car” (i.e.,a vehicle in contact with a network) it is possible that the car travelsbeyond the region where a VEPC was reachable. In this case the ConnectedCar could be served by the regular packet core. In other words, where aVEPC exists, the designated use cases (i.e., M2M, Connected Car, MVNO)should be routed to the VEPC instead of the regular EPC. In geographiesfrom where VEPC is not reachable these devices could be served by aregular EPC.

The MME 111, VEPC 160, OTAP server 170, and eNB 106 discussed above arenetwork elements in a packet network as described in FIG. 4. Eachnetwork element 111, 160, 170, and 106 should include the elements ofnetwork element as illustrated in FIG. 4 (and previously describedabove). Preferably the network elements are located in the core networkor the functions as described herein may be divided among a plurality ofnetwork elements inside or outside the core network. However, in otherembodiments the network element is not located physically at the corenetwork but is logically located between the core network and an eNodeBs(eNBs). The network element may have a controller, logic, memory,interface, and input/output which may be implemented using any suitablehardware, software and/or firmware configured as shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4comprises one or more system control logic 404 coupled with at least oneor all of the processor(s) 402, system memory 406, a network interface408 (including a transceiver 408 a), and input/output (I/O) devices 410.The processor(s) 402 may include one or more single-core or multi-coreprocessors. The processor(s) 402 may include any combination ofgeneral-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphicsprocessors, application processors, baseband processors, etc.). Systemcontrol logic 404 may include any appropriate interface controllers toprovide for any suitable interface to at least one of the processor(s)402 and/or to any suitable device or component in the packet corenetwork in communication with system control logic 404. System controllogic 704 may include one or more memory controller(s) to provide aninterface to system memory 406. System memory 406 may be used to loadand store data and/or instructions such as the knowledge database andlogger function discussed above. System memory 406 may include anysuitable volatile memory, such as suitable dynamic random access memory(DRAM), for example. System memory 406 may also include non-volatilememory including one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedia used to store data and/or instructions, for example, such as theembodiments described herein. The non-volatile memory may include flashmemory, for example, and/or may include any suitable non-volatilestorage device(s), such as one or more hard disk drive(s) (HDD(s)), oneor more compact disk (CD) drive(s), and/or one or more digital versatiledisk (DVD) drive(s). The memory 406 may include a storage resourcephysically part of a device. For example, the memory 404 may be accessedover a network via the network interface 408 and/or over Input/Output(I/O) devices 410. The transceiver in network interface 408 may providea radio interface to communicate over one or more network(s) and/or withany other suitable device. Network interface 408 may include anysuitable hardware and/or firmware. The network interface 408 may furtherinclude a plurality of antennas to provide a multiple input, multipleoutput radio interface. Network interface 408 may include, for example,a wired network adapter, a wireless network adapter, a telephone modem,and/or a wireless modem. For one embodiment, at least one of theprocessor(s) 402 may be packaged together with logic for one or morecontroller(s) of system control logic 404. At least one of theprocessor(s) 402 may be integrated on the same die with logic for one ormore controller(s) of system control logic 404. In various embodiments,the I/O devices 410 may include user interfaces designed to enable userinteraction with peripheral component interfaces designed to enableperipheral component interaction and/or sensors designed to determineenvironmental conditions and/or location information related to thenetwork element or system. In various embodiments, the peripheralcomponent interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatilememory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, and apower supply interface.

Alternatively, some embodiments and methods discussed above may beimplemented by a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing aprogram for performing the process. The computer readable medium maystore (in any appropriate format) those program elements which areappropriate to perform the method. The term “non-transitory computerreadable medium” refers to any medium, a plurality of the same, or acombination of different media, that participate in providing data(e.g., instructions, data structures) which may be read by a computer, aprocessor or a like device. Such a medium may take many forms, includingbut not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmissionmedia. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magneticdisks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes the mainmemory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, afloppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any othermagnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, a RandomAccess Memory (RAM), a programmable read only memory (PROM), an erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), a flash electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory (FLASH-EEPROM), any other memory chip orcartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other mediumfrom which a computer can read.

In an embodiment, a server computer, network element or centralizedauthority may not be necessary or desirable. For example, an embodimentmay be practiced on one or more devices without a central authority. Insuch an embodiment, any functions described herein as performed by theserver computer or data described as stored on the server computer mayinstead be performed by or stored on one or more such devices.

Although process (or method) steps may be described or claimed in aparticular sequential order, such processes may be configured to work indifferent orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps thatmay be explicitly described or claimed does not necessarily indicate arequirement that the steps be performed in that order unlessspecifically indicated. Further, some steps may be performedsimultaneously despite being described or implied as occurringnon-simultaneously (e.g., because one step is described after the otherstep) unless specifically indicated. Moreover, the illustration of aprocess by its depiction in a drawing does not imply that theillustrated process is exclusive of other variations and modificationsthereto, does not necessarily imply that the illustrated process or anyof its steps are necessary to the embodiment(s), and does not imply thatthe illustrated process is preferred.

In this disclosure, devices or networked elements that are described asin “communication” with each other or “coupled” to each other need notbe in continuous communication with each other or in direct physicalcontact, unless expressly specified otherwise.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments have been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evidentthat various modifications may be made thereto without departing fromthe broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in thefollowing claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method forprovisioning a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving asignal containing updated temporary identification information from theUE, the UE having provided permanent identification information to afirst mobile core network, having received temporary identificationinformation from the first mobile core network, having updated thetemporary identification information based on UE location information toproduce updated temporary identification information indicating thesecond mobile core network and having provided the signal containing theupdated temporary identification information for delivery, the UE havingupdated the temporary identification information based on a list ofinformation on locations of the second mobile core network receivedusing an Over The Air Provisioning (OTAP) server; forwarding thereceived signal to the second mobile core network; receiving a newtemporary identification information indicating the second mobile corenetwork for the UE from the second mobile core network, the newtemporary identification information assigned by the second mobile corenetwork after identifying and authenticating the UE using the permanentidentification information of the UE; and providing the new temporaryidentification information to the UE.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: sending a provisioning signal to the UE from an Over The AirProvisioning (OTAP) server which includes the list of information onlocations of the second mobile core network and instructions on when andhow to rewrite the temporary identification information to form theupdated temporary identification information.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the provisioning signal further includes a precondition forupdating the temporary identification information depending on thelocation of the UE.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the updatedtemporary identification information includes a new Globally Unique MMEIdentifier (GUMMEI) portion of a Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity(GUTI) or a portion of a Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity(P-TMSI).
 5. A computer implemented method for provisioning a UserEquipment (UE), the method comprising: sending a provisioning signal tothe UE from an Over The Air Provisioning (OTAP) server which includes alist of information on locations of a second mobile core network;receiving a signal containing updated temporary identificationinformation from the UE, the UE having provided permanent identificationinformation to a first mobile core network, having received temporaryidentification information from the first mobile core network, havingupdated the temporary identification information based on UE locationinformation to produce updated temporary identification informationindicating the second mobile core network and having provided the signalcontaining the updated temporary identification information fordelivery, the UE having updated the temporary identification informationbased on the list of information on locations of the second mobile corenetwork provided by the OTAP server; forwarding the received signal tothe second mobile core network; and receiving a new temporaryidentification information indicating the second mobile core network forthe UE from the second mobile core network, the new temporaryidentification information assigned by the second mobile core networkafter identifying and authenticating the UE using the permanentidentification information of the UE; and providing the new temporaryidentification information to the UE.
 6. The method of claim 5 whereinthe provisioning signal further includes instructions on when and how torewrite the temporary identification information to form the updatedtemporary identification information.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereinthe provisioning signal further includes a precondition for updating thetemporary identification information depending on the location of theUE.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the updated temporaryidentification information includes a new Globally Unique MME Identifier(GUMMEI) portion of a Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity (GUTI) or aportion of a Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI).